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Racers in the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Assoc. (AHRMA) series are on their way to Utah for rounds 16 and 17 of the AHRMA Michigan Engineering/RaceTech Historic Cup Roadrace Series at the 5th Annual Bonneville Vintage GP Presented by Motorcycle Classics. They’ll be descending on Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, west of Salt Lake City, just as other riders finish up the BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials at the famed Bonneville Salt Flats, where a new Norton 961 Commando SE broke the land speed record in the 1,000cc Production Push-rod class, recording an average top speed of 129.191mph.
John Surtees, the only man ever to win world championships on two wheels and four, has been named Grand Marshal for the 6th Annual Barber Vintage Festival. Surtees was on hand for the 2nd Annual Barber Vintage Festival in 2006, greeting fans and signing autographs, and getting in a few hot laps of the Barber track in the very Ferrari 158 F1 he took to a world championship in 1964. He also put in laps riding one of the 500cc 4-cylinder MV Agustas he rode to world championships in 1958-1960.
The “Munro Special,” the 1920 Indian Scout piloted by New Zealander Burt Munro to 183.586mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967, won top honors for prewar American racing motorcycles at the Aug. 15, 2010, Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. A car-only show since its founding in 1950, the prestigious Pebble Beach event opened its doors to motorcycles for the first time in 2009. The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum won top honors in 2009 for its 1954 AJS E95. One of four claimed built, that machine is featured in the September/October 2010 issue of Motorcycle Classics.
Here’s something you don’t –and won’t – see every day; a 1909 Wagner. Built by the Wagner Motorcycle Co. in Saint Paul, Minn., it’s a 442cc belt-drive single and likely one of only a handful in existence. The bike, an unrestored original that’s been in the same family since the teens, will be auctioned this year by MidAmerica Auctions August 13-15 during the annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
We all missed it last year, but thanks to major support from the folks at the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Assoc., Vicious Cycle in Portland and Bonneville event organizer Tom Kullen, the Honda CB160 Bonneville Vintage GP Raffle Bike is back for 2010, and it could be yours on September 5 if you have the winning ticket!
Remember the circa 1895 Hildebrand & Wolfmüller that Bonham’s auctioned last April for $132,000? Considered the oldest production motorcycle in the world, the Hildebrand & Wolfmuller was also the first machine to be described as a “motorrad,” German for motorcycle. Recently, we were reminded of what we think was surely the worlds first true motorcycle, the circa-1869 Roper Steam Velocipede, built by Sylvester Roper, Roxburry, Mass.
Consider this our Public Service Announcement of the week, a reminder to everyone in the motorcyling community that this coming Monday, June 21, is national Ride to Work Day.
The inaugural Road America Vintage Motorcycle Classic was held June 11-13. Organized by Classic Events and Road America, the new event was designed to capitalize on AHRMA vintage racing at Road America and the growing interest in classic motorcycle shows and swaps. And capitalize it did, with a great weekend of vintage motorcycling at one of the most storied race circuits in the U.S.
The Heart of America Motorcycle Enthusiasts Rally & Show at the Airline History Museum in downtown Kansas City, Mo., was a resounding success, as an estimated crowd of 2,500 classic bike fans roamed through the museum’s cavernous hangar to check out the hundreds of classic Hondas, Harleys, Nortons, Ducatis and more that were on hand for last Sunday’s show.
For the past few months we’ve been working on our latest project with Dairyland Cycle Insurance, taking a brand new, 2010 Triumph Bonneville and transforming it from what’s already an oh-so-nice retro classic into something with just a little more attitude and style; a new Triumph retro bobber. We’re getting close to finishing the bike, but while you’re waiting we thought we’d share a pic or two to give you a glimpse of what our new retro bobber’s going to look like.
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